Tino Rodriguez
Immersed from youth in the Mexican oral storytelling tradition, Tino Rodriguez was first exposed to art through the images of saints and angels in Catholic churches. His impassioned artwork incorporates objects significant to his personal and cultural history, such as veils—a nod to his sister’s first communion veil. His self-referential paintings often intend to challenge established gender roles. In his luscious images, femininity is reclaimed as a trait that can belong to all, and nature, beauty, and fantasy take full form. The mythical and the magical also come together in the
calaverasRodriguez creates, often in collaboration with Mexican American artist Virgo Paraiso. These surrealist skull paintings are celebrations of human transformation, alive with flowers, birds, butterflies, and mystical creatures. In artwork that sizzles with color and vitality, Rodriguez and Paraiso embrace sexuality, spirituality, and the cycle of life.